Family
by writersblock159
Summary: Yang put the phone away and tried to get to sleep, but all she could think was: "After all this time, I guess I really did fail my sister."


**Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.**

* * *

"Ohana means family.

Family means nobody gets left behind

or forgotten"

-Stitch

* * *

Weiss tried not to sigh as she heard her roomate roll over _again._

Ruby slept like a rock, curled up like one and just as difficult to wake up before six. Blake slept like a corpse, military straight on her back, arms either across her chest or at her sides. Weiss hadn't really figured out why yet, but Yang seemed partial to sleeping on her stomach, her hair hanging over the top of the headboard like some sort of curtain.

None of her team snored _thank the heavens_, and their lack of movement meant that Weiss, who ironically enough _was_ a restless sleeper, was rarely disturbed. Her personal REM cycle was so light that she was occasionally woken by the noise her own movements made, and if someone else made them- then it was over; she wouldn't sleep for the rest of the night.

Primarily due to the adrenaline rush that came from being pulled forcibly from a deep slumber.

So Yang's tossing and turning was driving the white haired girl _mad_, and as anyone at Beacon Academy would tell you, 'you wouldn't like Weiss when she's mad.'

Trying to ignore the shuffling of blankets across the room, and the groaning of the books which were supporting the bed, Weiss tried reciting her glyphs. It usually acted as a calming method for her, and, even if she didn't get to sleep, meditation would still be better than this half-asleep/half-awake misery she was currently in.

_Thump_.

Weiss tried not to jump as the soft noise, muffled by the rug, resonated through the room. Cracking her eyes, she saw that Yang had apparently given up on sleeping and was pulling on her slippers, carefully avoiding their resident faunus' things. A moment later the blonde had slipped out the door, only briefly flooding the room with light as she made her way into the hall.

_Finally._

Curling into her favorite position, Weiss was just drifting off when she remembered one little detail: Yang's pajamas didn't come with pockets. Which meant that when she came back, she was going to be knocking on the door, trying to get in.

Which would wake her up.

_Again_.

Oh this night was just getting better and better.

Pulling herself back from the edge of sleep, the white haired girl got up and put on her robe (designer, _of course_) and slipped her key into her pocket and, after a moment of thought, her scroll as well. If she was up she might as well use the facilities, and she was _sooooo close _to the next furious fowl level.

After a few minutes trying to get the damn bird to do what she wanted (it didn't) a much more relaxed Weiss made her way downstairs to the lounge. Unsurprisingly, at this hour, it was devoid of anyone except the blonde she was looking for. Yang was resting with her back to her, leaning on the kitchen island and staring out the window, a glass resting on the counter next to her.

"Hey Weiss." The white haired girl started, she wasn't expecting to be noticed. "I suppose you're down here to complain about Ruby blowing up your scroll?" The blonde took a drink.

"Um, no. I know how to turn off my ringer _Yang._" Really as if she, a Schnee, wouldn't be able to manage her own technology.

"Yeah, I suppose that would do it." The brawler's tone held none of it's usual teasing lilt. Instead she just sounded tired and… resigned. "I'm not sure why you're down here then. I know you're a bit of a light sleeper so I figured I'd stop hanging around upstairs and let you rest."

Weiss paused. "Are you okay Yang?"

The girl in question shook herself, and glanced back at her, a smile plastered on her face. "Yeah. Of course I am! I'm just having trouble sleeping, you know? Bad dreams and all that!"

"_Sure_." The white haired girl dismissed the sentence with a wave of her hand. "I've seen more convincing smiles on the trained apes my father keeps introducing me to." When Yang raised an eyebrow, the heiress explained. "He hopes I'll take a liking to one of them and bring in more money to the family."

"That sucks. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No!" The white haired girl stomped her foot. "I mean, yes, probably! But not right now!" She marched up to the taller girl and glared. "Right now I want to know what's bothering _you_! You deflect, and sidestep, and divert, but deep down you're obviously upset Yang, I can tell. You didn't even make a pun out of your _name _for Dust's sake!" The brawler sighed and finished the glass of what was definitely alcohol if Weiss' nose was anything to go by. As Yang reached for the bottle again, Weiss intercepted it. "And no more hiding behind _this _stuff!"

"Relax Ice Queen." Yang gave her a friendly wink, and took the bottle. "I'm putting it away. I only wanted one glass anyway." The blonde began putting words to actions, and made her way across the kitchen. "While I do this, why don't you look at the pictures that Phyrra, Ruby, and Nora have been sending all night?"

Giving her teammate a suspicious glance, Weiss opened her scroll, checking occasionally to make sure Yang really _was_ done with the alcohol and wasn't just sneaking another glass. Satisfied her friend wasn't trying to go on a drinking binge, Weiss pulled open the files, and nearly dropped her scroll.

"Wha- Ruby? Nora? Who is-? Do I-? Why did Phyrra let this happen?" Weiss scrolled through the pictures. The first was showing the three girls at a club, selfieing with a very disgruntled bouncer, and that girl with green hair- Ember if Weiss recalled correctly. After that it was just the usual dancing pictures that she associated with her overly rambunctious friends, until Nora sent a GIF of Ruby having a drink and making a very disgusted face. Nora's caption of "One cherry down, let's see how many more we can pop tonight!" concerned Weiss more than the actual illegality of what was going on. Especially as the drink pictures increased and the amount of clothing the redhead and silver eyed girl were wearing _decreased_. Phyrra could occasionally be seen in the background, mostly looking concerned, but it was clear that Nora and Ruby wouldn't be back any time soon.

Closing her scroll, Weiss tried to think of something to say to Yang. How would she approach this if it was Winter- actually, she didn't want to _imagine_ what she would say if Winter saw pictures like these of her.

More importantly, she didn't want to think about what Winter would say to _her_.

"Um, so…" She looked over her teammate's shoulder, and saw that the blonde had the picture of Ruby taking her first drink open. "I'm sorry-"

"There's nothing really to be sorry about, is there?" Yang sighed as she closed her scroll. "Ruby is more or less a grown up now, there's not a lot I can do about it."

"Yes," Weiss agreed. "But that doesn't mean she should be running around like some sort of… street walker."

"Hm?" Yang looked up. "No, that's not what's worrying me. She's a big girl, if she wants to have sex, then she should go for it." She glanced at the closed scroll. "It's just, she probably doesn't even realize how _stupid_ she's being, drinking like that."

Weiss blinked. "Wait, you're worried about the _alcohol?_"

Yang chuckled. "What's Vale's age of consent Ice Queen?"

"Fifteen." Weiss was aware of that since it was so controversial in Atlas.

"And the drinking age?"

"Sevente- oh." The white haired girl paused. "Oh no."

"Yep." The brawler popped the 'p.' "Now Pyrrha is smart enough to keep the pictures off the net, and she'll make sure Nora and Ruby make their way home no problem." She sighed. "Blake is gonna chuckle, and then delete them. I figured you would delete them too, and Ren and Jaune aren't really the type to keep blackmail material around. Pyrrha will delete hers, and so will Nora if she knows what is good for her. So I'm not really worried about them getting anywhere I wouldn't want them to."

"You didn't mention yourself in that list." Weiss pointed out.

Yang grinned evilly. "Well I plan to show them all to my dear little sister tomorrow morning, before I leave at four am, and let her sweat it out as to whether or not I'll send them to Dad."

Weiss blanched. Winter wouldn't ever be that cruel. "Will you?"

Yang shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not." She sighed again. "I'm just worried that she is biting off more than she can chew with this underage drinking."

"It seems like she's handling it alright." Weiss said, opening her scroll again and looking at the big thumbs up Ruby was giving the camera next to an empty pint glass.

"She's _not _though." Yang shook her head. "I've seen things like this. Peer pressure leads to drinking, and then it becomes normal for you to go out and get drunk every week." She turned away and began to pace. "It's not right, it's not fair, but there it is. Ruby could get in so much trouble if she gets caught."

Weiss nodded, before a thought struck her. "Headmaster Ozpin wouldn't let her though-"

"Ozpin isn't infalible." Yang snapped. Taking a deep breath, the brawler continued, calmer, but her voice steadily rising. "He could sweep it under the rug if it was here, on campus. Out there though," Yang waved her hand, "Out there they aren't going to call him. They're going to call the police. They're going to call Uncle Qrow or dad. If Ruby is _really_ lucky, and it's someone who knows me, they _might_ call me." She threw her hands up. "Even if they do, I'll have to tell the Headmaster, he'll suspend her, or at minimum put her on probation, and that's if she's _lucky._"

"What if she's not?" Weiss asked in a small voice. She had never seen her teammate like this. Yang was always cool, and collected. Even when she activated her semblance, and went "crazy scary" as Jaune put it, the brawler seemed more playful than truly angry.

Yang looked down. "If she's not, then she gets expelled, someone _else_ got pictures of my sister in flagrante delicto and spreads them around the school. Dad has kittens; and Me, Uncle Qrow, and dad get arrested for murdering whatever perv posted the pictures of Ruby." The blonde was obviously trying to joke, but her smile was forced. "Ruby in the meantime is grounded until she's a spinster, and is permanently removed from Beacon by dad."

A few moments of silence went by, and eventually Weiss spoke.

"Yang, do you think… well I mean, you're not exactly _unobtrusive_ about the lifestyle you live… maybe that's why Ruby is doing this." She trailed off as Yangs shoulders slumped and the brawler looked even more defeated than before.

"Yeah, I know." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I tried to be this amazing older sister, with all these cool friends and awesome stories, and I think that I might be the reason that this happened." She turned away, wiping at her eyes. "I just… I wanted her to think I was a _cool _older sister, you know? That I had all of this experience being this crazy, live on the edge girl, with an awesome motorcycle and great times. And I did do most of that, it's just…." She trailed off, looking down in shame. "I never wanted Ruby to do the same thing."

Weiss took a deep breath as her friend finally fell silent. "Winter said something similar when I told her I was leaving for Beacon." At Yang's surprised look, she scoffed. "What? Winter is _very_ protective of me. It was only natural that she would worry about me when I told her that I was leaving." As the brawler rolled her eyes, the white haired girl continued, "Winter told me that I was making a mistake that would create a rift between myself and my family. That she would, of course, support me, but that I would be changing a family dynamic that father has come to rely on. Finally, she told me that I was being foolish for just rushing in, and that if I had _any_ sense I would stop dreaming and _grow up_."

Yang stared at her. "What did you do?"

"I slapped her." Weiss replied daintily, as though she was ordering a fine wine for lunch. "I informed her that I was _not _going to be our father's plaything, or bargaining chip, and that I knew _exactly_ what I was getting into. Winter got up, gave me a nod, and wore that handprint out of the house like a badge of honor."

"Do you think she was right?" The brawler asked after a moment of silence passed between the two.

"Oh, I found out she was correct the moment I met Ruby." Weiss shook her head, an amused frown on her face. "I _was_ foolish for rushing in, I _did_ need to grow up, and I have _certainly_ made a rift between myself and my father; though Winter and I have since made up." She paused for a moment before pushing on. "That doesn't mean I shouldn't have come here though. I can certainly say that if I had not, then I would still be the pretty little wall flower that lived in a gilded cage and remained ignorant of her flaws. Here at Beacon, I have been taught the value of patience, seeing as Ruby continuously tests _mine_. I have grown up quite a bit, learning to see things from other points of view." Yang gave a nod, acknowledging the veiled concession. "And I have _certainly _learned that a group of friends that support me through thick and thin is much better than some father that cuts me off from his money when he feels slighted."

Yang grinned. "Weiss, I'm touched! I love you too!"

The white haired girl scowled as her teammate gave her a one armed hug. "Yes, of course, bur really." She muttered, more for show than actual annoyance. "Ruby is going to make mistakes, and if this is the kind of thing that sinks her, then okay, it's a shame that the five of us and JNPR are going to be bunking in prison." When the blonde raised an eyebrow, Weiss defended her position. "What? Do you _really _expect me to just stand back while my partner is publicly exposed like- like _that?_ Really! And if you think Pyrrha and Nora will sit back and do nothing, you don't know their conscience very well."

Yang cleared her throat. "Um, don't you mean 'conscience's' plural?"

Weiss gave her a withering glare. "You _clearly_ haven't been around Ren enough."

"Um, I guess not." Yang admitted, mentally adding Ren to the list of people she needed to avoid if she was doing something 'questionable' like pranks, or sneaking out after curfew. "What about Jaune though?"

"The guy that would do _anything_ for Pyrrha?" The white haired girl snorted. "Even if he's too clueless to see it, he's _way_ too devoted to that girl to know how to tell her no." Weiss wasn't blind, she knew that Jaune liked her. The difference was, that her perceptiveness also meant that she could tell he had undiscovered feelings for their fighter friend.

It might be the only battle she _could_ win against Pyrrha, but she wouldn't do that to a friend.

Yang sighed again, her smile slowly fading. "I'm glad you'd stand with us Weiss, but that isn't what is worrying me-."

"Is Ruby your responsibility?" Weiss interrupted harshly.

The brawler bristled. "Of course! She's my little-!"

"She's your _leader_." Weiss cut off the blonde again. "_She _is in charge of _you._ So I ask again, and you know I don't repeat myself for no reason, _is Ruby your responsibility?"_

"As our teammate, she's _all_ of our responsibilities, leader or not." Yang growled. "I thought you, as her partner, would understand that better than anyone."

Weiss dismissed that. "Her actions are her own outside of school-."

"They affect the team though." The brawler shot back, her eyes taking on a reddish tint. "They affect _all of us_!"

"Do they?" Weiss asked patronizingly. "And what, exactly, are _we_ supposed to do about a little girl who is too busy reveling in her newfound freedom to think about the consequences of her actions? Tie her up and leave her in the dorm? Chain her to her desk?" She met her teammate's furious glare with one of her own. "I am _well aware_ that Ruby is out there making mistakes, and they may cost her everything. I, however, made the mistake of not trusting her once before, and she's not only come through since then, but she's forgiven me for my… less than cordial reaction to her being my partner." She stared into the slowly reddening eyes of Yang Xiao Long. "_I _may not be perfect, and I _know _she's not, but I trust that she will do the right thing no matter what." She paused for a moment, before finishing. "I would have thought her _sister_ would have more faith in her, instead of a total stranger she only met this year."

Yang punched the kitchen island, causing the room to shake slightly, and Weiss to jump a bit. "You-! You would dare to-! My _sister _is making the biggest mistake of her life right now, and you just want me to just _wait_?"

"Well, as amusing as watching you tear into the club would be, I doubt it would do much in the way of curbing Ruby's newfound love of the party girl lifestyle." Weiss took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Myrtenaster was still in her room, though it would be little help even if it was down here. Yang was not a girl you wanted angry at you. "Offer me an alternative, a _viable_ alternative, and I will arrange everything from transportation, to paying off the tabloids if they get their hands on any details of this; even if I have to talk to my- my father." She kept eye contact with the blonde, willing her to see how serious she was. "But otherwise, all we, as her friends- yes even you," She held up her hand as Yang opened her mouth to argue. "Yang you are closer to her than Blake and I, but you need to understand that you are, at the end of the day, a higher tier friend, but still just a friend." Yang deflated at that. Her eyes transitioned back to normal as though a switch had been flipped. She staggered back against the counter as though struck and slid down the cabinets, pulling her knees up to her face as she sat.

Weiss knelt next to her. "I'm sorry Yang, but someone had to say it." Yang hid her face in her legs. Reaching out, the white haired girl gingerly touched the larger girls' shoulder, and made gentle rubbing motions with it. She hoped that her friend found it suitibly soothing, though it was, admittedly, a bit uncomfortable for the heiress.

"I guess…" Yang's voice came thickly from inside her legs, and Weiss wondered if the untouchable brawler was crying. "I guess I never really thought of it like that." She looked up, and Weiss saw her friend's eyes were slowly leaking tears. "I always thought that we, as sisters, meant _more_ than just friends."

The white haired girl sat next to her teammate. Still gingerly rubbing the bigger girls shoulder, she stared the ring on her other hand. "Winter told me that right before she left for basic training." She ran her finger over the ring, sadly remembering how her big sister had given it to her all those years ago. "When I was seven, she saved up her allowance and bought me this ring." She held it up. "I was so happy, because it was the first thing that someone gave me that I didn't ask for. She said gave it to me to remind me about our bond as sisters." She felt the smile on her face dim as the memories started coming back. "When she left for basic, I asked her, _begged _her to stay, reminded her that she said we would always be there for each other." Wiess looked down, her other hand limply sliding off the brawler's shoulder. "She just dismissed me, like she always did. And then she said that."

"You kept the ring though." Yang said between sniffs.

"It's pretty." Her words rang hollow to her own ears, but it would take a lot more than a friend's distress to make Weiss admit to _anything_ more than that. "I like pretty things."

The two sat in silence for a moment, before Yang finally stopped sniffing. "I'm sorry Weiss."

"For what?" Weiss was genuinely curious.

"For getting mad. You're right, I can't really do anything about Ruby's life." When the white haired girl nodded pleasantly, Yang finished her statement. "I think you're wrong about sisters though. Winter was wrong, it's more than just friendship."

"You know, I think you're right."

"Somebody write that down, Weiss Schnee admitting she might be wrong!"

"And admitting it to Yang Xiao Long to boot!"

"And you crack a joke? Okay, who are you, and where is the real Weiss?"

The two giggled for a few minutes. Finally Weiss caught her breath. "I'm clearly _far_ too tired if I'm not only cracking jokes with you, but finding your juvenile humor funny as well." Her smile didn't leave her face though.

"Hey, _Yanging_ with me for _Xiao Long_ was bound to affect your sense of humor eventually." The blonde grinned, as Weiss was seized by another uncontrollable bout of giggles.

"Oh you really aren't this funny- really!" Pulling herself together, she forced her face into its usual pleasant expression, before immediately bursting out laughing again.

Yang laughed along with her, and the next few minutes the two girls just laughed. Every now and again one would finally slow down, only for the other to set them off again. After a while, they were finally done, both gasping for air with tears still leaking from their eyes. As they sat in silence, Weiss could feel herself falling asleep.

"Yang, we need to go back to bed."

"Yeah, I guess." The blonde made no move to get up, and neither did Weiss. The floor wasn't supposed to be this comfortable, was it? "Weiss, did you mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"That thing… about sisters."

Weiss sighed, her eyes half closed, she knew sleep would arrive soon whether she wanted it too or not. "I did, but it's not right." Her brain was closing down the carefully built filters she kept on her thoughts. "Winter and I… that's probably all we'll ever be to each other. Friends. But you, and Ruby, and Blake, and even me, we're better. We'll be sisters no matter what, we're better than family." She murmured the last thing that crept into her mind. "We're better than my _old _family."

* * *

**No references, except the obvious one.**

**Working Title was 'At That Age...'**

**Anyone curious about why this fic is lacking it's usual humorous surroundings should know that I needed a bit of an outlet. Real life can occasionally be too much, and I write to deal with it.**

**This is for me, as much as it is for you.**

**Thank you for reading.**


End file.
